Combo box "Selected" not really selected until a person picks it

[PhilD]

This issue has been plaguing me for months in different apps.

Essentially, it is always some variation of this example...

• Combobox1 Items set to return items from SP list
• Combobox1 DefaultSelectedItems set to a specific choice from the list
• Gallery is set to Combobox1.Selected
• Gallery returns not items until the user actually manually chooses one of the values from ComboBox1 (even the item originally showing works if the user manually chooses it)

I can easily confirm this behavior by putting a label next to the combobox set to display ComboBox1.Selected. The DefaultSelectedItems shows in the combobox yet the label set to display ComboBox1.Selected remains empty until a choice is made manually.

Why is this and is there any proper workaround?

[ccauser]

Thank you @PhilD

Note that I still have a UI bug, I could create a gif of it to show it, would be easier, but in some cases I unselected one of the highlited item and even if the value is removed correctly from the combobox field and the actual 'selecteditems', it stays highlited, closing the combo and reopening it clears up this... 

[defdames]

@v-xida-msft 

If this is the case what is the preferred method to add exisiting selections?  If a user picked 3 items, wanted to come back after the record was saved and then add a fourth item while displaying the original 3 items they picked previously using default selected items wont their previous selectiosn then be wiped out?  I find this VERY problematic.  Is there a documented work around?

[ccauser]

---

@defdames wrote:

If this is the case what is the preferred method to add exisiting selections?  If a user picked 3 items, wanted to come back after the record was saved and then add a fourth item while displaying the original 3 items they picked previously using default selected items wont their previous selectiosn then be wiped out?  I find this VERY problematic.  Is there a documented work around?

---

There's no issue if you follow my post in the same thread (Link). The key is to have the same source for your items and defaultselecteditems, your user can select some items, save the result in a concatenated format in a field and then edit them back, adding or removing some of the selection and save them back... works perfectly.

[Sephiel]

Thank you for this solution!! Saved me such a headache!

If someone wants a bit of a TL;DR of how to control a filter (or object) before the user interacts with it, but also want the same results when there are no rows selected...

I Initially followed other advice to grab a row count of the selected items, this worked but only after the user interacted with it (as many others have seen):

If(CountRows(ComboBox1.SelectedItems) = 0, logic for blank result...)

How do you deal with it if it's null? Ditch the CountRows and use IsBlank to account for the null. Replacing with this worked PERFECT:

If(IsBlank(ComboBox1.Selected.ID), logic for blank result...)

Thanks again @v-xida-msft, @PhilD!

[Anonymous]

@ccauser 

Thank you for coming with another solution. This issue has been bothering me for a while now.

However, it seems with your fix it still does not keep the different items from the combobox selected when I go back to the editform again.

My codes are:

DefaultSelectedItems of combobox

Filter(PracticeSPM, Practice in Split(Parent.Default, ";"),Practice)

Items of combobox

PracticeSPM.Practice

 Update of the combobox's datacard

Concat(ComboBoxPractice.SelectedItems, Practice,", " & Char(13) & "")

[ccauser]

I don't know if you copied/pasted or retyped your code but I would guess that one of the problem is the fact that you split on ";" while you concat on "," & Char(13) & "".

1- You need to at least concat & split on the same separator which would be "," or ";", pick one

2- Why do you add the empty & "" at the end? is it supposed to be an extra space?

3- fixing the separator isn't enough, because now you have an extra Char(13) hanging there, you need to split on "," & Char(13)

Powerapp is crappy for debugging, but there's an easy way to test any command, just add a text field or a drop down on your form and fill them with the result of the command

If you simulate your source PracticeSPM

Table( {Practice:"A"},{Practice:"B"},{Practice:"C"})

Then you can add a text field and put the following as the text content

Concat( Table( {Practice:"A"},{Practice:"B"},{Practice:"C"}), Practice, "," & Char(13) & "")

and you'll see "A, B, C, " <- see the extra space from the Char(13)

If you then add a drop down and set the following as 'items'

Split(Concat( Table( {Practice:"A"},{Practice:"B"},{Practice:"C"}), Practice, "," & Char(13) & ""),";")

You'll get just one item which has the same text as above because the ";" won't match anything

If you fix the ";" to "," then you will still see an issue which is an extra space in front of the 2nd and 3rd items because of the Char(13). So you need to Split on the same "," & Char(13)

Split(Concat( Table( {Practice:"A"},{Practice:"B"},{Practice:"C"}), Practice, "," & Char(13) & ""),"," & Char(13))

but really, get rid of the Char(13) and extra & "" unless you really needed it

[CLAS]

Good afternoon! I've checked all the info on this requirement for the community, so I can't understand the solution, please can someone help me!

This is my scenario, in this moment I'm using a SharePoint customize form and I've changed 5 single line of text fields by combobox, then I used in the item section some simple formulas to bring data for other SharePoint list, something like.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Combo box 1 --> (Data card) Update: ComboBoxCapacity.Selected.Result

Item: Distinct(ListCapacityClientOrderCS,CapacitySOLPED)
Defaultselecteditem: [Parent.Default].Value

Combo box 2 --> (Data Card) Update: ComboBoxClient.Selected.Result

Item:Distinct(Filter(ListCapacityClientOrderCS, CapacitySOLPED = ComboBoxCapacity.Selected.Result), Client)

Defaultselecteditem: [Parent.Default].Value

Combo box 3 --> (Data Card) Update: ComboBoxOrderCS.Selected.Result

Item: Distinct(Filter(ListCapacityClientOrderCS, CapacitySOLPED = ComboBoxCapacity.Selected.Result, Client = ComboBoxClient.Selected.Result),OrderCS)

Defaultselecteditem: [Parent.Default].Value

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So when I try to use the Edit in Sharepoint, it looks like the field is full with the record, but when I hit the save button, it drops an error in those fields, it puts, "An entry is required" like if the field is empty.

I´ve been trying with different formulas on the Defaultselectedstem but i doesn't change anything.

What sould I do, can somebody help me to figure it out? @ccauser @Anonymous @PhilD

[robthered]

Has anyone found a solution for this?  We have cascading ComboBoxes that rely on previous records.  Everything works great when we're on the first run of the page.  When we go to edit a record and we populate using the default selected items, everything seems to be broken.

We've tried using Lookup to select the records.  We've tried filter.  Visually when you look at it it acts as though it's selected, but when you try to get the control.SelectedItems it's showing a completely blank record.  

[cbranch]

I have been hoping to see a solution here as well. We are in the same boat as you. *Crosses fingers*

[ccauser]

Don't understand the comments about not having a solution, I have posted in this thread the solution and it's been validated by many so far, and I've been using it in multi cascading combos without any issue. In all the cases I've seen you need the same kind of 'source' between defaulselecteditems and items.

so if your "Item" is based on something like Distinct( someReferenceToAList...), then your DefaultSelectedItem MUST also use the same list like Filter( someReferenceToAList, WhateverValueISaved)